Corporate Governance

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is supporting the Marketplace and Internet Tax Freedom Act. The legislation was introduced by Senators Michael Enzi, Richard Durbin, Lamar Alexander, Heidi Heitkamp, Susan Collins and Mark Pryor.

Amarillo, Texas – Parent, a company owned by New Jersey-based licensing and memorabilia mogul Joel Weinshanker, has purchased multimedia entertainment retailer Hastings Entertainment for $21.4 million. The publicly traded Hastings will go private and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent.

Beachwood, Ohio - DDR Corp. will hold the grand opening of Seabrook Commons, the company’s most recent ground-up development project located in Seabrook, New Hampshire, on Aug. 12. This 380,000-sq.-ft. prime power center is 96% leased, anchored by Wal-Mart, Dick's Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Michaels, Ulta, Famous Footwear and Five Below, and features a complementary restaurant lineup that includes Panera, Outback Steakhouse and Noodles & Company.

New York - Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (ESRT), a New York-based real estate investment trust, has completed the acquisition of the ground and operating leases at 112 West 34th Street and the ground lease at 1400 Broadway for a total of approximately $734 million in cash, common stock and operating partnership units. 112 West 34th Street is a 26-story, 650,769-rentable-sq.-ft.office tower, with 92,455-sq.-ft. of retail space located in the 34th Street/Penn Station submarket.

Seattle - Hardy Capital Partners, along with a small group of Canadian investors, have acquired 100% of OnlineShoes.com, a $140 million profitable online footwear retailer based out of Seattle. Hardy Capital Partners has also acquired 100% of ShoeMe.ca, a Vancouver-based online footwear retailer, for an undisclosed amount.

Dublin, Calif. – Ross Dress for Less will open two new stores in the Mid-Atlantic region on July 19. The stores opening are in the MacDade Mall in Glenolden, Pennsylvania and Windsor Heights Shopping Center in East Windsor, New Jersey.

These new openings are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year.

Atlanta - IDology, a provider of identity and age verification solutions, has released ExpectID Global GeoTrace, a new anti-fraud tool designed to help identify and eliminate location-based fraud. In addition, IDology has expanded its global identity verification solution, ExpectID Global, to now include coverage for Mexico.

Phillipsburg, N.J. -- National Realty & Development Corp. announced that Hobby Lobby has opened its 56,000-sq.-ft. store at Pohatcong Plaza in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

Pohatcong Plaza is a 562,000-sq.-ft. power center located at the intersection of Route 22 and Greenwich Road, 1/2 of a mile northwest of Interstate-78 off of Exit 3.

Loveland, Colo. -- Soma opened a new store on July 12 at The Promenade Shops at Centerra, in Loveland, Colorado.

Soma, a division of Chico’s FAS, currently operates 264 boutiques nationwide, as well as its online presence at soma.com.

Birmingham, Mich. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team, in cooperation with NAI Farbman, recently brokered the sale of The Willits Retail in Birmingham, Michigan. The 25,396-sq.-ft. asset was purchased by Southfield, Michigan-based Seligman Group.

The Willits Retail is located at the southeast corner of Willits Street and Bates Street in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. Willits features Mitchell’s Fish Market and Cameron’s Steakhouse, together with TD Ameritrade and Darakjian Jewelers.